Welcome! Thanks for joining us and our conversation. I really look forward to learning some more stuff.
I have a couple questions.
Can tobacco be grown hydroponically? Specifically several 5 gallon buckets plumbed together/deep water culture with a recirculating top feed system on a timer? Would High Pressure Sodium or Medal Halide provide a better spectrum for tobacco?
Do you think a butane extraction would strip volotile/harmful chemicals form the leaf or terpenes/flavors compounds only?
Oooh finally, something I am familiar with. In regards to hydroponic growth, yes. You might be aware that commercial tobacco is seeded in styrofoam float beds which provide the optimal environment for young seedlings to grow (hydroponic babies). They are kept in these trays for roughly the first month of growth until the plants are about 6-10" in height where they are then transferred to the field. The problem with hydroponics is that the root system of tobacco needs to 'breathe', for lack of a better term. It doesn't mean that it can't work, however it is not optimal for the plant, at least in terms of traditional farming. But for people dealing with smaller numbers of plants and that have more time to devote to observing and tweaking the system a hydroponic system would definitely be possible. Tobacco grown the standard way is able to absorb its nutrients from the soil and is supplemented with fertilizer from the farmer. If your hydroponic system was able to provide all of the appropriate nutrients and proper fertilizer rates to the plant then I don't see why it wouldn't work.
In regards to the lights, we use both in our greenhouse but the medal halide lights are a higher intensity and used when we need faster growth. Think of it like this, the high pressure sodium is like an 85 degree day and requires less observation and tweaking, the medal halide lights however are like a 95 degree day and require careful observation as to not burn the plant. You could use either and get good results but if you want the quickest growth then I would use the medal halides, just watch for the tops of the plants and when you see wilting/burning, winch up the lights a few inches. We also use the medal halides exclusively for making crosses, if you do that sort of thing.
In response to extraction, I have no idea. I could ask a few of my co-workers who deal with this sort of thing but wouldn't have an answer until probably Wednesday.
